First Selectman Dan Rosenthal welcomed about 100 residents, town staffers, and elected officials September 23 to the first of what is expected to be four or five public information sessions detailing information and options for the future of Fairfield Hills.

The sessions will play out through early next year ahead of the April 2020 budget referendum, which is expected to also pose one or more binding advisory questions querying residents on whether to include mixed-use commercial/residential development as an option in the Fairfield Hills Master Plan or to commit tax dollars to razing most of the remaining buildings.

While Mr Rosenthal, Selectmen Jeff Capeci and Maureen Crick Owen, and Planning & Zoning Commission Chairman Don Mitchell sat at a table in the front of the Newtown High School auditorium, a contingent of officials, including Fairfield Hills Authority Chairman Ross Carley; Director of Planning George Benson; Economic Development Commission Chairman Wes Thompson; Public Works Director Fred Hurley; and Christal Preszler, the town’s Deputy Director of Economic & Community Development, sat in auditorium seating at the front and listened.

Newtown’s Economic & Community Development and Fairfield Hills Coordinator Kimberly Chiappetta assisted in running the accompanying visuals, while Fairfield Hills Master Plan Review Committee Chair Deborra Zukowski sat in the audience and offered a couple of questions and remarks.

Kicking off the roughly 50-minute presentation — that focused almost exclusively on the history of Fairfield Hills and developments since the town acquired part the former state hospital property — the first selectman recognized the ten-member master plan review panel.

More Information

Mr Rosenthal was self-effacing as he began his historical review, telling those gathered, “I never say I’m smarter than anyone, but I may have more information, based on the office I hold.”

Speaking to the ultimate decision about the sprawling campus’ future as outlined in the draft Master Plan revision, he immediately reminded attendees that there would be a binding vote on the matter.

“Whatever the community says [in the referendum] will come before the Board of Selectmen as we act on the Master Plan.”

Mr Rosenthal then outlined his plans for most or all of the remaining information sessions, which will continue in early November with a presentation covering both funds spent to date on municipal campus developments and enhancements and estimated future costs related to potential demolition of unused or unusable remaining buildings.

In January, the first selectman plans to cover various options available to the community, before possibly introducing developers with ideas for mixed-use developments utilizing one or two of the remaining buildings still suitable for renovation.

He also announced the creation of a dedicated e-mail address where residents could send questions and reminded attendees that any questions posed that are unrelated to the agenda of any given meeting would be cataloged and presented at the appropriate time.

“We will make all questions [and responses] part of the public record,” Mr Rosenthal said. Each session is being recorded, as well, for interested residents who cannot attend — and will be available for viewing through the municipal website.

The historical retrospective covered everything from the 2001 town meeting during which the decision was made to acquire the campus as a means of deferring private residential development there to the recent opening of the new community and senior centers this past summer.

Mr Rosenthal said he town eventually acquired about 185 acres of the 650-acre hospital site and recalled that during its peak usage, the state hospital was a nearly self-sustaining community of its own, housing 3,000 residents and patients, employing hundreds of staff, and utilizing about one million square feet of space.

While the state began officially closing the facility in 1995, Mr Rosenthal lamented that the state began “pulling back” from maintaining the campus and actually stopped heating some unoccupied buildings as early as 1990 — contributing to their ultimate deterioration.

He related that the first Fairfield Hills Maser Plan originated through the Planning & Zoning Commission in 2005, with a directive to review and update it about every five years. He also noted that in 2012, the plan was modified to allow nonprofit use of the grounds for activities and festivals.

Turning to the subject of development and demolition, Mr Rosenthal said since the town took over Fairfield Hills, 17 buildings have been demolished; four have been renovated, including the former cafeteria, which is now the Municipal Center; and four new buildings have been constructed.

Best Intentions

The first selectman said from day one, the intention was to mix private and public projects on the campus, but the recession of 2008 changed the game plan substantially. He also pointed out the relatively lower costs for commercial tenants to acquire turnkey space in new buildings, virtually disabling any local efforts to attract occupants willing to remediate and renovate “1930s-era hospital buildings.”

Projecting a slide of the renovated duplex that houses the Newtown Parent Connection, Mr Rosenthal said that targeted development showcased “the art of the possible,” in relation to what might be done with select remaining buildings. But he then stated, “the challenges of getting someone in there [to conduct such renovations] is a race against time.”

He made similar remarks about the renovations ongoing for a new brew pub at Stratford Hall, which marks the first for-profit development on the campus since its acquisition.

Mr Rosenthal then discussed 2017 streetscape improvements that were partially underwritten by state grants. He said those cosmetic and landscape improvements greatly enhance the public entrance and roadways throughout the property.

The first selectman also said improvements and additions to the campus walking trail system has created a meandering two-mile loop that is heavily used nearly year-round.

“Fairfield Hills is many things to many people,” Mr Rosenthal said as he moved on to review the various challenges the community faces going forward related to the campus. Among those challenges are areas of hazardous materials in underground utility tunnels and materials that have transmitted into the soil around building from things like flaking lead paint.

He estimated that to date, approximately $30 million in public money has been spent, including for the initial acquisition, but not including the $10 million gift from General Electric to develop the recently opened community center. In addition, the municipal water and sewer authority has invested another $2 million-plus for infrastructure improvements.

Audience Reactions

Questions and comments from a few audience members ran the gamut — from asking about a huge mound of dirt behind the community center to requesting accounting for all the costs related to various studies and consultants that have been used on campus initiatives over the years.

Another attendee asked whether there was active interest in any of the buildings not already identified for possible mixed use, and Mr Rosenthal responded “not a lot,” adding that the construction of many of the buildings provided inflexible floor plans that are undesirable to most commercial developers.

Another Master Plan Review panelist, Chandravir Ahuja, said he was pleased with the turnout and shared a frustration that the planning committee was unable to draw much resident participation in their latest work, despite conducting a successful survey, which in great part inspired the idea for the info sessions.

Mr Rosenthal urged community members with specific questions to e-mail them to the new dedicated address for that purpose, fh@newtown-ct.gov.

In closing, the first selectman said “I love Fairfield Hills,” and encouraged residents to share their ideas and thoughts about the campus’ future using the e-mail or by attending one or more future info sessions.

“I owe it to the community to let them express [those ideas],” he said, noting that the latest review committee survey showed a majority of responders rejected the idea of including any contingency for possible residential development at Fairfield Hills but also showing strong opposition for significant future spending at the facility.

“We have to reconcile that,” Mr Rosenthal said.

Following the presentation, the first selectman added, “I was pleased with how the first session went, including the thoughtful questions/comments people shared. I appreciate everyone that took the time to attend, and I hope that even more will attend the discussion on the costs associated with the campus. The video and presentation from Monday’s session should be posted soon for those unable to attend.”